Not a Place Where, But a People Who...

Our Motto is: "Not a place where, but a people who!" What does that mean?

St. Charles Borromeo is a community, not just a set of buildings, so the "not a place..." portion of our motto is more or less self-explanatory. As a matter of fact, the history of St. Charles illustrates that we were a community long before we even had a physical church!

The "...people who" portion of the motto begs the question what does "a people who," mean? Parishioners who have been here for a while know exactly what "a people who" means, but "a people who" may not tell new or potential parishioners who we really are. 

The community of St. Charles Borromeo is a people who:

• Welcome all who enter; active and returning Catholics, other faiths, single, married or divorced

• Share our faith in Jesus, engage and empower our community by living the Gospel

• Create a spiritual environment where faith can thrive

• Enrich the spiritual lives of the community

• Value the individual and family

• Actively celebrate and support our youth

• Reach out to parishioners and the entire tri-valley through community service

• Tithe 5 cents of every dollar received in the collection to help the less fortunate, needy parishes and local and international agencies

• Staff 3 shifts at Open Heart Kitchen every month

• Every year, fill backpacks that are donated to needy school-aged children in Livermore

• Visit patients at 3 convalescent homes, Valley Memorial Hospital and several homebound people every week

The list could go on, but the truth is that "a people who" means many different things to each of us. We are united by our diversity to form one cohesive community that is totally unique and devoted to caring for others. In fact, while we call ourselves a community, many of our parishioners say that we are more like a family.

Father Gus' Pastoral Message